Jordan Times
Tuesday, July 25, 2006
Jordan, Kuwait stress
need for cease fire
King discusses developments with Musharraf, holds talks with US
congressmen
AMMAN (JT) — Jordan and Kuwait on Monday stressed the need for an immediate
ceasefire to end the killing of civilians and the destruction of Lebanon’s
infrastructure.
King Abdullah and Emir Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah called at a Kuwait City
meeting for a unified international stand to help stop deterioration in Lebanon
— averting further regional destabilisation and backing the peace process, the
Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.
The King’s several-hour visit to Kuwait, part of his efforts to help end the
crisis, was ahead of one-day gathering in Rome scheduled for Wednesday on the
situation in Lebanon, under Israeli attack for 13 days, during which more than
380 people were killed and another 600,000 Lebanese displaced.
The foreign ministers of Jordan and Saudi Arabia are among those invited to
participate in the meeting that US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and UN
Secretary General Kofi Annan are expected to attend.
The King and Sheikh Sabah also called for securing relief aid to the Lebanese
people. Jordan dispatched hundreds of tonnes of aid and a field hospital to
Lebanon.
The two leaders also discussed the situation in the Palestinian territories and
bilateral ties. Shortly before his departure for Kuwait, King Abdullah told a
delegation of the US House of Representatives in Amman that there could be no
peace in the Middle East “until there is a just solution to the Palestinian
cause”, according to Petra.
Washington has “a crucial role in reviving the peace process and ensuring that
Palestinians and Israelis return to the negotiating table”, the King said.
Headed by Pete Hoekstra (R-Michigan), the delegation comprised Jane Harman
(D-California), Darrel Issa (R-California) and Rick Renzi (R-Arizona).
Meanwhile, the Monarch received a phone call from Pakistani President Pervez
Musharraf and discussed with him Mideast issues, mainly the Lebanese situation.